SOLUTION: find the angles of an isosceles triangle if the vertex angle is 3 times a base angle

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Question 779111: find the angles of an isosceles triangle if the vertex angle is 3 times a base angle
Answer by fcabanski(1391) About Me  (Show Source):
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An isosceles triangle has at least two equal sides, and thus at least two equal angles. Since this triangle has a larger vertex angle, it is not equilateral. It has two equal base angles.


The sum of the interior angles of a triangle is 180.


Call each base angle x, call the vertex angle 3x.


x + x + 3x = 180


5x = 180


x = 36.


The base angles are each 36 degrees, and the vertex angle is 3*36 = 108 degrees.